Educational technology: education outreach programs (Part 3)

In this three part blog series ‘Educational Technology’, Advance Queensland Community Digital Champion, Emily de la Pena answers her question, ‘If I had $2000 to spend on educational technology, what would I buy to get the most out of it?’

Emily has been visiting regional libraries around Queensland delivering coding and robotics training to library staff. She’s an advocate for the important role robotics plays in education, and put together this series of three blog posts to share her thoughts on how to choose educational technology

By Emily de la Pena–Advance Queensland Community Champion

Part 3: Education outreach programs

Now that you have tech equipment for $2000, the next step may be the delivery of student workshops. How will this equipment be used in your community?

library members can borrow equipment and use at home

librarians deliver student workshops to the public

local schools visit the library to participate in student workshops delivered by the library

local schools borrow equipment to use in classrooms

Option 1: library members can borrow equipment and use at home

In this option, library members will be using the equipment at home. The library may choose to deliver workshops at the library to teach the community how to use equipment, prior to borrowing, or leave it up to the users to learn on their own when they are at home.

Option 2 & 3: student workshops delivered by the library

The library may choose to deliver workshops to teach students how build projects with and use the equipment.

Option 4: local schools borrow equipment to use in classrooms

The library has two options when schools choose to borrow equipment for their classroom use. The library can deliver teacher PD so that teachers know how to make use of the equipment. Otherwise, teachers can learn on their own.

There are plenty of free online resources to learn:

how to use the technology

how to deliver project-based classes that makes use of the technology

If you are looking for support to help you make decisions about which equipment to buy, feel free to contact us for a free consult. We are not affiliated with any equipment suppliers and we provide unbiased advice on how to best serve the digital literacy educational needs of your community within budget.

Coding Kids is developing the next generation of coders, creators, innovators and change makers. We are striving for: All Australian children coding by 2020! We run school holiday code camps, after-school coding clubs and professional development workshops for educators. Children build their own computer games, animation movies and digital solutions. Through fun and play children discover computational thinking, design thinking and entrepreneurship.